George Orwell statue unveiled outside BBC by his son

A statue of George Orwell is unveiled outside the BBC's New Broadcasting House. The statue was funded by the George Orwell Memorial Trust, which was set up by the late MP Ben Whitaker. Speakers include Baroness Janet Whitaker, Orwell's adopted son Richard Blair, and sculptor Martin Jennings. Ben Whitaker MP made numerous efforts during his lifetime to get the statue made. Private donors to his George Orwell Memorial Trust include BBC names such as John Humphrys, James Naughtie and Melvyn Bragg, along with playwrights Tom Stoppard, David Hare and Michael Frayn, comedian Rowan Atkinson, and Orwell’s son Richard Blair. Westminster city council approved the statue. The quotation inscribed on the wall next to Orwell is from a proposed preface to Animal Farm which was never used - "If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.